2010 GMC Terrain: Mostly Enjoyable Highway Cruiser

April 30, 2010

I used our Terrain a couple days ago for an approximate 4-hour highway drive. For the most part, it was a pleasant companion. It rides pretty smoothly, is fairly quiet and has plenty of interior storage for various bits like cell phones and snacks. The driver seat is comfortable for multi-hour stints, too.

When climbing Southern California's I-5 Tejon Pass (the "Grapevine") on my drive, however, the Terrain's six-speed automatic transmission became a little annoying. Its programming is pretty conservative, especially when set to the "Eco" mode. So this resulted in the Terrain feeling flat-footed at the start of each grade. Hello, Mr. Terrain, a downshift please? There is a manual-shift mode, and I ended up just selecting fifth or fourth gear on my own. Alas, at higher rpm, the 2.4-liter inline-4 doesn't exactly make the best sounds.

None of this is terrible. But if you frequently drive on hilly terrain, the GMC's optional V6 might be more appealing.